The Baltimore Waltz

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The Baltimore Waltz is a play by Paula Vogel. Essentially a series of comic vignettes underlined by tragedy, the farce traces the European odyssey of sister and brother Anna and Carl, in search of hedonistic pleasure and a cure for her terminal illness, the fictitious ATD she contracted by using the bathrooms at the elementary school where she teaches.
Knowing her life is nearing its end, Anna is driven by a lust that compels her to have casual sex with as many men as possible during their travels, a passion shared by her gay brother. Assisting the pair is the mysterious Third Man, a reference to the classic suspense film starring Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles, to which Vogel frequently alludes in detail.
The play was Vogel's response to the 1988 death of her brother Carl, who died from complications due to AIDS before they were able to enjoy a long planned European vacation.
The Baltimore Waltz was first shown in a workshop at the Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, Alaska, in October 1990.
The Baltimore Waltz was first produced Off-Broadway at the Circle Repertory Company in February 1992.